Congress: CBO says energy bill would cut deficit by $19B

"Senator John F. Kerry’s signature energy and climate change legislation would cut the deficit by $19 billion, according to an estimate released yesterday by the Congressional Budget Office," the Boston Globe reports. "The legislation faces strong opposition from Republicans and some Democrats from energy-producing states, but the report gives the Massachusetts Democrat and his allies a compelling financial argument amid concerns about the implications of a burgeoning deficit."

"A conservative environmental group is arguing in new television and radio spots that a Democratic cap-and-trade proposal is bad for both trees and the economy," Roll Call says. The group, CO2IsGreen.org "is spending $600,000 on the 10-day buy that will run through July 13. Television ads will air nationwide on the cable news giant Fox News, as well as on local network affiliates in the Washington, D.C., area. The group is also running 60-second radio spots and newspaper advertisements in Louisiana, Tennessee, Nebraska, Ohio and Indiana publications."

"Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and John Cornyn (Texas) have sided with the state of Arizona in its battle with the Department of Justice over a controversial state immigration law," The Hill notes. Yet: "Graham’s declaration of opposition to the Justice Department law suit comes as a surprise because Graham called the Arizona law unconstitutional in April."

"Queens Congressman Gregory Meeks made no payments for three years on a secret $40,000 personal loan - and repaid the cash only when the FBI started asking questions, the Daily News has learned."

An "unidentified Internet prankster, or group of pranksters, has been sending e-mails announcing that Democratic Sens. Reid (Nev.), Patrick Leahy (Vt.), Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) and Frank Lautenberg (N.J.) have died of cancer," Roll Call reports.